Sheffield Scuffle

Who doesn’t love a good debate? I know I sure do. Especially a political one charmingly deemed the “Sheffield Scuffle.”

Last week I went to see the DePaul College Republicans and the DePaul College Democrats go head-to-head in this year’s political debate. The two teams debated issues pertaining to the economy, the environment, crime and education. It took place in the student center (on Sheffield Street, hence the aforementioned charming name of the debate.)

I was a little biased while sitting in the crowd because my awesome roommate was debating on the side of the Democrats. Despite my political views (I sure won’t get into them here, so don’t worry), I had to show my support for my friend.

Like the dork that I am, I decided to sport an American flag bandana. I thought, “what could be cooler than literally walking into the political debate with a fashion statement of democracy tied to my forehead?” I ended up getting a lot of laughs, but I’m pretty sure they were at me instead of with me. I stand behind it though. You’ve got to wear red, white, and blue to any political event. It’s the unwritten rule.​

While the debate was by no
means perfect, it was certainly entertaining. A professor from the political
science department moderated the debate and the turnout was pretty successful.
The debate was structured as follows: Opening statements, questions posed from
one side to the other, response, rebuttal, repeat, switch sides for the
questions on the next topic, concluding statements, and question and answer
portion.

Did ya get all that? I would
say that there are a lot of opportunities to get involved politically on
campus. Although I’m not in neither the DePaul College Republicans nor the
Democrats, they both are strong clubs on campus that many students belong to.

Additionally, there are many
other ways to get onto the political scene here. Through internships for
aldermen and congressmen throughout the city of Chicago, these politicians are
always looking for DePaul students to help volunteer. Being a political science
major, it’s exciting to know that there are so many opportunities to get
involved on campus and in the city.

Of course while at the
debate I had to take a selfie in the crowd. If you look on stage you’ll see my
roommate debating about the minimum wage. I’m about to blow that picture up and
hang it on our apartment wall. Talk about wall art…​